Seahorse Newbie....Flow question

[stricknine]

I recently upgraded from a 24 to a 72 and decided to turn the 24 into a sea horse tank. I did do a lot of reading prior, but always, with something new, Im gonna have a lot of questions.

I added a pair today in a 24G biocube. It has 2 x 100GPH return pumps (im pretty sure) and I have a koralia nano and a Koralia 1 in there. They looked to be blowing around a fair bit so I turned the powerheads off. They still seem to be blowing around a bit, but can swim against the flow if they want to. Also with a lot to perch on, they seem to choose not to and just float around;
Do I have too much flow for them?

Also, any other tips are more than appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[pledosophy]

Has a lot to do with the size of the seahorses, and has some to do with the outlets and placements ya know. Regardless I would put the fish gaurd on the koralia 1.

Rule of thumb for a seahorse tank is 3 to 5x the tank volume to be turned over per hour. So for the rule of thumb you'd max out at about 150 gph.

If you choose to plan your flow you can go higher, much higher. It is going to be different for every tank, with tank design, hitches, size of seahorses etc.


I'd try out without the powerheads and see how it goes, then add the Koralia nano back if everything is well. If still good add the Koralia 1.

Keep an eye out though, if they look unhappy they probably are.

 

[stricknine]

Thanks!

Only day 2 so Im not too sure if they look happy or not! I will run with the rule of thumb for now and adjust if necessary. They were in and out of the flow doing backflips and not flapping their fins at all. Not sure if they were uncomfortable or playing around. Didnt seem to have any trouble swimming when food hit the tank though.

Also, should/does a black sea horse go pale white when they sleep? First night I had them, and when I got up this morning and turned the living room lights on it scared the heck out of me. After 5-10 minutes of light, they were black again!

I feel like Im starting SW all over again!